Apparatus and method for supporting a pipe coupling

ABSTRACT

A pipe coupling support having a substantially rigid body with an inner surface formed to mate with at least a portion of the exterior surface of a pipe coupling installed on pipe. In many cases, the exterior surface of the installed pipe coupling will be non-cylindrical. For example, when pipes of differing diameters or pipes manufactured from different materials must be joined with commonly available pliable couplings. In this instance the inner surface of the body of the pipe coupling support may be formed to mate with a majority of or substantially the entire exterior surface of the installed pipe coupling.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES

This utility patent application is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/105,074 filed on Apr. 17, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No.7,770,941, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SUPPORTING A PIPECOUPLING”, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

An apparatus and method for supporting or reinforcing a pipe couplinginstalled on pipe.

BACKGROUND

Pipe couplings are often used to couple or join the ends of two lengthsof pipe together. Many modern pipe couplings are cylindrical or tubulardevices formed of a pliable material such as natural or syntheticrubber. The free ends of the pipes to be coupled are fit into respectivesides of the pipe coupling, and generally, one of many types of pipe orhose clamp is used to compress the coupling to the exterior surface ofthe pipes being joined. Pipe couplings thus serve at least two purposes.The coupling both joins the free ends of two or more pipes together andseals the joint against leakage.

The drain and waste system of most modem construction is fabricated fromPVC or CPVC pipe having various suitable diameters. Generally, theinterior drain and waste lines will be joined to one or more largerwaste lines which passes from the interior to the exterior of thebuilding.

In contrast to the interior drain and waste lines, exterior waste pipesand sewer lines are generally fabricated from clay, cast iron, formedconcrete or other non-plastic materials. The pipes used in exteriorwaste lines often have a somewhat different outside diameter from thewaste lines exiting a building. A special pipe coupling may be used tojoin together two pipes having differing outside diameters or fabricatedfrom different materials.

Element 10 of FIG. 2 is a typical pipe coupling which may be installedbetween the waste pipe exiting a building and the feeder pipe to anexternal sewer line. Prior art couplings typically have a flexible orpliable body which is sized to receive the dissimilar pipes at oppositeends. In addition, one or more pipe clamps may be associated with thebody to secure and seal the coupling to the respective pipes. Since atypical prior art coupling has a flexible or pliable body the pipe endscan move with respect to each other or separate from each other inresponse to tension or shear forces which are typically present when theground around the pipes subsides, a building settles or other forces areapplied to the system. Relatively small lateral displacement between therespective pipe ends can cause a failure of the seal and furthermore cancause a pipe edge to be projected into the flow pathway whichfacilitates blockage at the joint. The inability of a typical flexiblecoupling to adequately support the joint between waste and sewer pipesor to effectively resist shear and tension forces placed on the pipes isthe primary cause of the failure of this joint. Accordingly, acommonplace but expensive repair which is often necessary on the jointbetween interior waste lines and the exterior sewer system involvesexcavation of the failed joint, repositioning of the pipes andreplacement of the coupling.

Certain types of reinforced couplings are known which may reduce, buttypically will not eliminate the problems described above. For example,couplings with a stainless steel support sleeve associated with the pipeclamps are available. Known reinforced designs do not, however,typically provide adequate support to resist the large shear and tensionforces applied to pipes when a building or the ground around the jointsettles.

Plumbing and sewage contractors may also encase the entire joint in aquantity of concrete. This effectively stabilizes the joint; however,this solution is expensive and renders the joint between the pipes nolonger accessible for service needs.

The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of theproblems discussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment is a pipe coupling support having a substantially rigidbody with an inner surface formed to mate with at least a portion of theexterior surface of a pipe coupling installed on pipe. In many cases,the exterior surface of the installed pipe coupling will benoncylindrical. For example, when pipes of differing diameters or pipesmanufactured from different materials must be joined with commonlyavailable pliable couplings. In this instance the inner surface of thebody of the pipe coupling support may be formed to mate with a majorityof or substantially the entire exterior surface of the installed pipecoupling.

The pipe coupling support may feature at least one recess in the bodywhich is configured to receive a clamp or other structure associatedwith the installed pipe coupling. By effectively accommodating pipeclamp bolts or other structures in the recess, the pipe coupling supportmay otherwise more closely mate with the exterior surface of theinstalled pipe coupling. The support may also include apparatus forcompressing or tightening the body into close engagement with theinstalled pipe coupling. This apparatus can include but is not limitedto one or more pipe or hose clamps, bolts, screws, or other threadedmembers associated with the pipe coupling support body. The pipecoupling support may also include one or more inner supports associatedwith the inner surface of the body to closely mate with and furthersupport the exterior surface of the installed pipe coupling or the pipeitself adjacent to the coupling.

Another embodiment is a pipe coupling having a substantially rigid bodywith an inner surface as described above. This embodiment may alsoinclude a support sleeve which is configured to fit between the rigidbody and the exterior surface of a pipe coupling installed on pipe. Inthis embodiment, the support sleeve itself may define at least onerecess configured to receive a clamp structure such as a tightening boltassociated with the installed pipe coupling. In installations where theexterior surface of the installed pipe coupling is non-cylindrical, theexterior surface of the support sleeve and a portion of the pipecoupling may define a substantially cylindrical surface when the supportsleeve is operatively associated with the installed pipe coupling. Thesupport sleeve may be rigid or pliable.

Another embodiment is a pipe coupling having a substantially rigid bodyand a pliable inner member. The pliable inner member may include a firstcylindrical inner surface sized to mate with the outer surface of afirst pipe having a first outside diameter. The pliable inner member mayalso have a second cylindrical inner surface sized to mate with theouter surface of a second pipe having a second outside diameter, whichis less than the diameter of the first pipe. The pliable inner membermay also have a junction surface between the first and secondcylindrical surfaces which is substantially perpendicular to both thefirst and second cylindrical inner surfaces. This embodiment may alsoinclude apparatus such as one or more pipe clamps or bolts associatedwith the body for compressing or tightening the body and inner memberinto close engagement with the free ends of first and second pipes. Whenoperatively installed the pipe coupling and inner member are configuredsuch that the junction surface abuts the free end of the first pipe.

Another embodiment is a method of supporting a pipe coupling installedon pipe. The method includes providing a pipe coupling support of anytype as described above and associating the pipe coupling support withan installed pipe coupling such that the inner surface of the supportbody is closely engaged with the exterior surface of the installed pipecoupling.

The method may also include compressing or tightening the pipe couplingsupport into close engagement with the installed pipe coupling.Compression may occur with pipe clamps, bolts associated with the body,or other tightening means. The method may also include receiving clampstructures such as bolts which are associated with the installed pipecoupling into recesses associated with the pipe coupling support tomaximize the engagement area between the pipe coupling support andinstalled pipe coupling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pipe coupling support.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pipe coupling support ofFIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a pipecoupling support.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the pipe coupling support ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pipe coupling support withoutcompression apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the pipe coupling support ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pipe coupling support including innersupports.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the pipe coupling support ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a pipe coupling support including asupport sleeve.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the pipe coupling support ofFIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a pipe coupling having a pliable innermember with a junction surface.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the pipe coupling of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of pipe coupling supports are disclosed herein whichmay be used to support and reinforce an existing, new or previouslyinstalled pipe coupling. A typical pipe coupling 10 is illustrated inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The pipe coupling 10 includes a sleeve 12 which istypically molded from a pliable substance such as natural or syntheticrubber. The sleeve 12 has a first opening 14 and a second opening 16 atopposite ends. The first and second openings are appropriately sized toreceive the free ends of the pipes which are to be joined with thecoupling 10. As is best shown in FIG. 2, the first opening 14 and secondopening 16 may define openings of different diameter. Thus, the firstopening 14 and second opening 16 may be formed to receive and seal witha first pipe 18 and second pipe 20 (see phantom outline FIG. 1) whichhave different diameters and may also be fabricated from differentmaterials.

The pipe coupling 10 as described above is therefore suitable forjoining and sealing the typically plastic pipe which passes to theexterior of a building from the building's drain and waste system withan exterior pipe connected to a sewer or septic system. The sewer orseptic system pipe is often fabricated from a non-plastic material suchas clay, cast iron or concrete.

The pipe coupling 10 also has one or more pipe clamps 22 associated withthe sleeve 12. The pipe clamp 22 as shown in FIG. 2 includes a wormdrive bolt 24 engaged with a typically stainless steel strap 26 suchthat rotation of the worm drive bolt 24 causes compression of the firstor second opening 14, 16 respectively. Thus, the pipe clamp 22 may beused to assure that the coupling 10 is securely bound to and sealed withpipes 18 and 20.

The sleeve 12 is typically fabricated from a pliable material such asnatural or synthetic rubber. Thus, the sleeve itself provides onlymoderate resistance to lateral displacement of the pipe ends as a resultof shear forces which might result when the associated building orbackfill settles. Similarly, the pliable sleeve 12 provides onlymoderate resistance to linear displacement of the free ends of the pipes18 and 20 upon the application of tension forces such as might occurwhen backfill subsides along a length of pipe. Accordingly, the pipecoupling 10 provides only moderate protection against failure of thejoint upon the application or force or stress to either pipe 18 or pipe20.

One embodiment of a pipe coupling support 28 is illustrated in FIG. 1and FIG. 2. This embodiment of a pipe coupling support 28 includes asubstantially rigid body 30 which has an inner surface 32 which isformed to mate as closely as possible with the exterior surface of apipe coupling 10 installed on pipe. The pipe coupling support body 30may be fabricated from plastic, metal, concrete, a ceramic material orother substance having suitable rigidity to support an installed pipecoupling 10.

Many typical pipe couplings 10 have a non-cylindrical external profilesince the sleeve 12 has a substantially uniform thickness throughout thecoupling 10 but the first and second openings 14, 16 are of differentsizes to accommodate dissimilar pipes. As shown in FIG. 2, the innersurface 32 of the rigid body 30 of a pipe coupling support 28 may beformed to mate with a majority of or substantially the entire exteriorsurface of the installed pipe coupling 10. Thus, the inner surface 32may have a relatively smaller opening 34 and a relatively larger opening36 at opposite ends of the body 30 to correspond with the differentiallysized first and second openings 14, 16. In addition, the transition 38between the smaller opening 34 and large opening 36 of the body 30 maybe sloped at an appropriate angle or otherwise formed to closely matewith the sloped portion 40 of the sleeve 12 between the respectiveopenings.

Close engagement of the pipe coupling support 28 with the coupling 10may be further enhanced by providing the body 30 with one or morerecesses 42 defined by the body 30 and positioned to receive protrudingstructures such as the worm drive 24 of the coupling 10. The operativeconfiguration of a recess 42 receiving a worm drive 24 is best shown inFIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this embodiment of the pipe couplingsupport 28 may include an apparatus for compressing or tightening thebody 30 into close engagement with the installed pipe coupling 10. Thisapparatus may (as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) be one or more conventionalpipe clamps operatively associated with the substantially rigid body 30.The pipe clamps 44 may include a worm drive 46 and strap 48 such thattightening the bolt associated with the worm drive 46 causes the strap48 to compress the body 30. Compression may occur at slot 50.Alternatively, another type of compression zone or a pliable portion maybe added to the body 30 to facilitate radial compression.

Other types of apparatus may be used to assure that the pipe couplingsupport may be compressed or tightened into close engagement with theinstalled pipe coupling 10. For example, as is illustrated in FIGS. 3and 4 an alternatively configured pipe coupling support 52 which isotherwise structurally similar to the embodiment described above may betightened into close engagement with an installed pipe coupling 10 withone or more threaded bolts 54 associated with a slot 56. The pipecoupling support 52 of FIGS. 3 and 4 also features a hinge 58 which maybe a supplemental structure or living hinge molded into the body 60. Thehinge facilitates the wide opening of the pipe coupling support 52 forplacement over a pipe coupling 10.

Separate apparatus for tightening the body 60 into close engagement withthe installed pipe coupling 10 may not, in certain instances, be desiredor necessary. For example, an alternative pipe coupling support 66 asillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 may include a body 68 which has an innersurface 70 and one or more recesses 72 configured to slide into closemating engagement with an installed pipe coupling 10.

A pipe coupling support 76 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be fabricatedwith one or more inner supports 78 operatively positioned between theinner surface 80 of the body 82 and a portion of the exterior surface ofan installed pipe coupling 10. Thus, the inner support 78 may provideadditional support and minimize the need to fabricate a body with avariable inner profile. Alternatively, the body 82 of the pipe couplingsupport 76 could be sized to extend beyond the ends of the pipe coupling10 and one or several inner supports 78 could mate and support directlywith a first or second pipe 18, 20. The inner supports 78 can be of anyshape and fabricated from a pliable or rigid material. The innersupports 78 may be separate structures or formed as extensions of thebody 82.

In each of the embodiments described above, the substantially rigid bodyof the pipe coupling support either directly, or in association withinner supports, is closely engaged with the pipe coupling 10 when thepipe coupling support is positioned for use. In an embodiment of a pipecoupling support 90 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 a support sleeve 92 maybe operatively positioned between an inner surface 94 of thesubstantially rigid body 96 and an installed pipe coupling 10. Thesupport sleeve 92 may have an inner support surface 98 which is formedto mate with an exterior surface of the pipe coupling 10. The supportsleeve may also define one or more recesses 100 configured to receiveworm drive 24 or other structure associated with the pipe coupling 10.

The body 96 of this embodiment of the pipe coupling support 90 mayinclude an apparatus for compressing or tightening the body and supportsleeve into close engagement with the pipe coupling 10. This apparatusmay be a pipe clamp as described above, a bolt and slot apparatus 102 asshown on FIGS. 9 and 10, or another apparatus suitable for radiallycompressing the body 96.

As described above, a typical pipe coupling 10 for joining dissimilarpipes will not have a straight walled cylindrical external profile.Accordingly, many embodiments of a pipe coupling support as describedherein feature an inner surface specifically formed to mate with theirregular exterior surface of the pipe coupling. As shown in FIGS. 9 and10, the support sleeve 92 may be sized such that the exterior surface ofthe support sleeve and a portion of the exterior surface of theinstalled pipe coupling 10 form a substantially straight walledcylindrical combined surface when the support sleeve 92 is operativelyassociated with the installed pipe coupling. Thus, the inner surface ofthe body 96 may be fabricated with substantially straight cylindricalsides. This configuration facilitates fabrication of the body 96 fromrolled sheet stock or readily available rigid pipe sections and incertain instances may eliminate molding or machining steps which mightbe necessary with other embodiments to ensure that the inner surface ofthe body closely mates with the exterior surface of a pipe coupling.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a novel pipe coupling 110. The pipe coupling110 includes a substantially rigid body 112 and a pliable inner member114. The body 112 may optionally include compression apparatus such asone or more pipe clamps or the bolt, slot and flange apparatus 116illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. The coupling 110 could alternatively beimplemented with other types of compression apparatus or no compressionapparatus at all.

The pliable inner member 114 includes a first cylindrical inner surface118 sized to mate with the outer surface of a first pipe 120 having afirst diameter. The pliable inner member 114 also has a secondcylindrical inner surface 122 sized to mate with an outer surface of asecond pipe 124 having a second diameter which is less than the diameterof the first pipe 120.

A junction surface 126 is the transition between the first cylindricalinner surface 118 and the second cylindrical inner surface 122. Thejunction surface 126 is substantially perpendicular to both the firstand second cylindrical inner surfaces. Thus, when the coupling 110 isplaced into engagement with a free end of the first pipe 120 the freeend closely abuts the junction surface assuming the free end of thefirst pipe 120 is cut in a reasonably square manner.

The pipe coupling support embodiments of FIG. 110 described in detailabove may be used to provide support and structural rigidity to a new orpreviously installed pipe coupling. The pipe coupling support may beplaced or slid over the existing pipe coupling while making sure thatprotruding apparatus associated with the coupling such as the worm drive24 of FIG. 2 are received in the appropriate recesses 42 associated withthe pipe coupling support. When properly placed into position, anycompression apparatus associated with the pipe coupling support may betightened assuring close operative engagement between the pipe couplingsupport and the underlying pipe coupling.

The pipe coupling support may be installed over a pipe couplingimmediately after the pipe coupling is installed to join pipe sections.Alternatively, a pipe coupling support may be installed over an existingpipe coupling to repair or reinforce the joint. The substantially rigidbody of the various pipe coupling support embodiments described hereingreatly increases the ability of a pipe joint joined with a conventionalpipe coupling to resist shear forces or tension forces as are commonlyencountered when settling occurs.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a number of embodiments, it would be understood by thoseskilled in the art that changes in the form and details may be made tothe various embodiments disclosed herein without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention and that the various embodimentsdisclosed herein are not intended to act as limitations on the scope ofthe claims.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposesof illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimiting of the invention to the form disclosed. The scope of thepresent invention is limited only by the scope of the following claims.Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art. The embodiment described and shown in the figures waschosen and described in order to best explain the principles of theinvention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the invention for various embodimentswith various modifications as are suited to the particular usecontemplated.

1. A pipe coupling support for supporting an installed pipe coupling, the pipe coupling support comprising: a continuous body formed by a roughly cylindrically-shaped sheet of rigid material having an exterior surface and an interior surface wherein the interior surface includes a plurality of inner supports formed as an extension of the continuous body, wherein plurality of inner supports are positioned on the interior of the continuous body near a first end of the continuous body such that the interior supports define a first interior diameter at the first end of the continuous body and the sheet defines a second interior diameter at a second end of the continuous body, and wherein the first interior diameter is less than the second interior diameter.
 2. The pipe coupling support of claim 1, wherein the continuous body further comprises at least one notch in the body for receiving a protruding portion of the installed pipe coupling.
 3. The pipe coupling support of claim 2, wherein the inner support is fabricated from a rigid material.
 4. The pipe coupling support of claim 1 further comprising a compression portion adapted to receive a compression apparatus which can compress the body, wherein the compression portion comprises at least one of: one or more slots for receiving a hose clamp or pipe clamp; opposing flanges with opposing slots or apertures for receiving a bolt or other fastener.
 5. A pipe coupling support for supporting an installed pipe coupling, the installed pipe coupling connecting a first pipe having a first exterior diameter and a second pipe having a second exterior diameter different from the first exterior diameter, the pipe coupling support comprising: a continuous body formed by a roughly cylindrically-shaped sheet of rigid material, the continuous body having: three or more inner supports, wherein the three or more inner supports are positioned on the interior of the continuous body near a first end of the continuous body creating a first opening having a first size determined by the three or more inner supports, the first opening operable to receive the first pipe with the first exterior diameter; a second opening having a second size such that the second opening is operable to receive the second portion of the installed pipe coupling when the second pipe with the second exterior diameter is inserted into the second opening of the pipe coupling support; and wherein the second opening is larger than the first opening thereby allowing the continuous body to be slipped over the pipe coupling after the pipe coupling has been installed on the first pipe and second pipe; and a compression apparatus.
 6. The pipe coupling support of claim 5, wherein the compression apparatus comprises at least one of: one or more hose clamps and worm drives; and a bolt, slot and flange apparatus.
 7. The pipe coupling support of claim 5, wherein the three or more inner supports are fabricated from one of: a pliable material; and a rigid material.
 8. The pipe coupling support of claim 5, wherein the wherein the three or more inner supports are a separate structure from the continuous body.
 9. The pipe coupling support of claim 5, wherein the three or more inner supports are formed as an extension of the continuous body.
 10. The pipe coupling support of claim 5, wherein the continuous body further comprises a pliable inner member. 